Whispers of the Victorian House

Chapter 4- The Book of Shadows

Diya was so engrossed in reading Emily's diary that she didn't even realize when her eyelids closed and she dozed off. But as she woke up and eagerly opened the diary, her heart sank as she realized that there was no writing on any of its pages. The once-empty pages were now glaringly blank, with not a single word or mark to be found. The clean, white sheets stared back at her, taunting her with their emptiness, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed. It was as if the diary was an empty canvas, waiting for someone to fill its pages with their thoughts and experiences. 

And then she thought to herself, "Well, at least I can use it as a really expensive coaster!"

Suddenly, she heard faint whispers near her ears, and for a moment, she thought she had finally lost it. But then she realized it was just her brain cells talking to each other, trying to make sense of the chaos. 

"Guys, can we take a break?" her brain cell asked. "I can't handle this level of crazy."

Poor Diya ended up snoring loudly in her room, still clutching the diary in her hand. It's a good thing nobody was around to witness her embarrassing moment, or she'd never hear the end of it!

Suddenly, the front door opened with a loud bang, and Diya almost jumped out of her skin. She got up from the bed and started walking down the stairs, tiptoeing as if she was playing a game of "the floor is lava." 

As she made her way to the staircase from her room, she picked up a baseball bat and held it tightly, ready to face any intruder. If only her high school gym teacher could see her now, he would be so proud that his years of forcing her to play baseball had finally paid off!

While doing so, she peered through the bannister like a curious meerkat, trying to catch a glimpse of the mysterious intruder. As she made her way to the door, she couldn't help but notice a pair of shoes standing there, almost as if they were waiting for someone. 

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she thought to herself. 

She tiptoed down the stairs like a ninja, trying not to alert the shoes' owner. And there he was - a handsome man, buried in his paperwork like it was the love of his life. Diya was tempted to shout, "Surprise!" but she decided to play it cool and not scare the poor guy to death.

The guy turned around and almost spilt his coffee all over himself. He was more startled than a cat on a hot tin roof. There, in front of him, stood Diya, looking like she had just walked off the set of a horror movie. 

He thought to himself, "Am I seeing things, or did I forget to take my medication this morning?"

Diya was holding the baseball bat above her head, ready to strike, but the man in front of her was quick to grab her hand and shouted, "It's me! It's Caleb Manor!"

"Caleb who? Are you some kind of wrestler?" Diya asked, looking unimpressed.

Caleb was taken aback and clutched his chest, "No, ma'am. I'm a realtor from the Manor family."

"The Manor family? Did you come here to sell me some cookies?" Diya asked, jokingly.

Caleb was confused, "No, ma'am. I'm here to finalize the price of this house. We are realtors in this town."

Diya rolled her eyes and replied, "Oh, great. I was just thinking of selling my house to a stranger who barged in like a thief."

Caleb tried to explain, "Ma'am, I'm here to quote a price for this house. If a house has been abandoned for more than 3 years, we are told to-"

Diya interrupted, "Listen, Ca-Mr Manor. I'm not selling this house. Emily Brown is my grandmother, and she left this house for me. So, please leave before I change my mind and use this bat."